"While you may believe your decision to hold interviews in grand formal settings is inspiring, it allows public school applicants to flourish... and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the academic potential of both," the letter continues.

"As it happens Magdalen has a really diverse intake, both in terms of race and education," she continued. "I find it very difficult to believe someone actually turned down a place at Oxford just to be self-righteous. Frankly the whole thing sounds like a pathetic publicity stunt.’

An Oxford University spokesperson said: "Despite what the candidate said, we would point out that the actual admissions figures speak for themselves: of the seven UK students who received offers for Law and joint school courses at Magdalen, only one was from an independent school."